Acts 1:12-26 | the Need for PrayerSample

We can’t read Acts 1 without addressing a question that plagues sincere Bible readers: What about Judas!?

The story of Judas is heart-breaking. Many who know it feel a deep sympathy for him; maybe because we silently identify with him. What makes it harder is that it feels like Judas was destined for failure by God. Peter even makes it sound like his choice to sin was written-in-stone prophecy.

Curious, though, that we rarely think “Poor Jesus.” Jesus, after all, was the one betrayed. Judas’s betrayal meant Jesus was tortured, humiliated, rejected, and even cost him his life. And Jesus, too, seemed prophetically destined for this.

The story of Judas conjures all kinds of fears about whether God predestines some to sin, questions on the relationship between human responsibility and divine sovereignty, and even about how Judas actually died. In his Gospel, Luke even says Satan entered him (Luke 23:3). No matter how we answer these questions, his story is a sober reminder that we, too, can witness the work of Christ, yet throw it all away.

At some point we have to leave Judas in God’s hands, trusting that God is kind and merciful and just. Better to focus on our own walk instead. Where am I at risk of selling Jesus out for my own agenda or things of this world?

Jesus told his disciples: “You will all fall away” (Mark 14:27). It wasn’t just Judas. Peter and the other apostles did too. If you find yourself in the same boat, just remember: no matter how you’ve betrayed or how far you’ve fallen, turn back to God rather than run away in despair. God wants you to come to Him. Start here. Just pray. I think it’s safe to say that if Judas hadn’t killed himself, but instead responded to Jesus after his resurrection, like Peter, Judas could have been restored too.

Acts 1:16-20

Mark 14:10-46

Matt 27:1-10

Luke 15:11-24